April 25, 2008
A nicely timed capper to our week is the final pick of our Mock Draft. Check back here tomorrow around draft time and on the Rotoworld news page for the real thing. Rob, take it away ...
With the 31st pick, the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants select...
Is Darren McFadden still available?
Continue reading "Pancake Blocks Mock Draft: Last pick!" »
April 23, 2008
One general comment on this Mock if I may. I may. Almost everyone seems to want to trade or think their team will, but don't forget how difficult it is to find an appropriate pricetag and trading partner. Trade talk is a lot more common than teams who are confident enough to get it done. Now Josh F. will take it away with the 49ers pick
Wow. Sure is a crappy place to be drafting from after the lost season that was 2007. But at least it looks as if Joe Staley may have been worth it. The Niners have many needs but their three biggest are WR, OL, and someone to rush the passer. This pick is a very hard one to make. Lets break it down by need...
Continue reading "Pancake Blocks Mock Draft: Pick No. 29" »
It looks like B. Roo wants to set the comments record for the Mock with this pick, No. 28 for the Cowboys. 49ers are on the clock.
Let’s get it out of the way up front and then give the explanation. Please hear me out before you flame me. With the 28th pick in the ’08 draft the Dallas Cowboys select:
Brian Brohm- QB (Louisville)
First of all, let me say that if the draft actually plays out this way Dallas WILL trade this pick. I can’t do that here though. The Cowboys still have needs at WR and in the secondary. None of the WRs are first round worthy and the DB board has also been picked clean of first round talent.
Continue reading "Pancake Blocks Mock Draft: Pick No. 28" »
April 22, 2008
I had the Chargers pick in our video Mock Draft (coming out tomorrow). I took Jerod Mayo. Justin K. disagrees)
The Chargers don't have many glaring weaknesses, but they only have a few picks in this years draft, so they must choose players wisely. I think the pick should be defensive, since all the noteworthy RBs have been taken. As the team stands now, they shouldn't have any difficulty winning their division. Their problem will be in stopping the passing game of their playoff foes, the Patriots and Colts. The debate is in how to do so. As of late it seems that you can win with a sub-par secondary as long as your pass rush is top notch.
Continue reading "Pancake Blocks Mock Draft: Pick No. 27" »
My wife asked me last night what the point of a Mock Draft is. It was surprisingly difficult to come up with an answer, but I went with "entertainment value and you learn about the players." Saying it passes the time until next season would make sense too. With that in mind, Tony B. is up with the Jaguars
With Marcus Stroud being sent to the Buffalo Bills, Bobby McCray now a Saint, and Reggie Hayward a year removed from knee surgery and coming off of a relatively off-year, conventional wisdom says the Jaguars’ most pressing need is on the defensive line.
Continue reading "Pancake Blocks Mock Draft: Pick No. 26" »
April 21, 2008
Draft week is finally here. This draft has the most intriguein the top ten since the 2004 Eli/Rivers draft, so it should be a fun buildup. We're on the home stretch of our Mock with John W. picking for Seattle
There are three positions the Seahawks lack depth and strength in. Everyone would point to RB with the decline of Shaun Alexander and they are right. But with Mendenhall and Stewart not falling, they can wait to maybe find a diamond in the rough.
Continue reading "Pancake Blocks Mock Draft: Pick No. 25" »
April 18, 2008
Pittsburgh up, with Matt G. making the pick. Matt took some heat for his comments about the Jonathan Stewart pick, although most of those comments came off looking worse than anything he wrote. At least people are passionate about the first annual Pancake Blocks Mock!
The facts everyone keys on:
- The Steelers gave up 47 sacks last year
- Their O-line is now sans Alan Faneca, a perennial pro bowler
Continue reading "Pancake Blocks Mock Draft: Pick No. 23" »
April 17, 2008
I know this draft is a hit when I get two emails telling me to hurry up and post the Dallas pick. So here goes, courtesy of Marv M.
Dallas should use this pick to select a running back.
They arguably have bigger needs in the secondary, but all of the cornerbacks worth taking this high have already been selected, and a safety can be acquired later.
Continue reading "Pancake Blocks Mock Draft: Pick No. 22" »
Couple quick thoughts before we get to the Washington pick. First, how weird is it to have a draft where Washington has extra picks? The Redskins have four picks in the first three rounds. They haven't had more than two since 2002. Second, our man James officially blew our word count out of the water. 250 words people! Since the information is good, I'll let it slide. Plus James is Canadian, and I like every Canadian I've ever met.
Not surprisingly for a team which has traditionally thrown foolish amounts of money at free agents with mediocre ability and has given away drafts picks in ill-advised trades, the Washington Redskins are thin
at many positions (in no particular order):
Continue reading "Pancake Blocks Mock Draft: Pick No. 21" »
April 16, 2008
I tend to agree with the comments that this draft has good a little more according to plan/logic than will happen. Doesn't make any of the picks poor, just not huge surprises. Robert O. has a bit of sleeper here, choosing for the Bucs
Conventional wisdom, at least for "good" teams, is that a winning team is built in the trenches first. With that in mind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers actually performed well on both the offensive and defensive lines last year. While the Bucs could use an infusion of youth at Defensive End, Tim L. made an eloquent argument (and saved me a few words) that there is no DE of value available at this point in the draft.
Continue reading "Pancake Blocks Mock Draft: Pick No. 20" »
The longer this draft gets, the longer the writeups for the picks get. That's good because I'm struggling to keep it interesting here during magazine season. Andy G. has the honors for the Eagles. I heartily endorse the pick.
I've spent some serious time thinking about who to take in this situation and the more I thought about it the more i've become convinced that the Eagles will be moving up in this draft. The current list of available players is unacceptable for the Eagles. The most glaring needs that necessitate a 1st round pick are OT, WR and S. All of the top OT's are off the board and I don't want to reach for Gosder Cherilus.
Continue reading "Pancake Blocks Mock Draft: Pick No. 19" »
April 15, 2008
Jimmy has the honors with the Texans
I was really hoping to have Williams or even Albert available here to improve the O-line. The Texans still may take a left-tackle here. I do not think the Texans will take a RB in the first round as there are more pressing needs on the defensive side of the ball. We need to improve our pass defense by either applying more pressure on the QB or possibly covering receivers (just a thought).
Continue reading "Pancake Blocks Mock Draft: Pick No. 18" »
Tim L. up with the Vikings with this pick. Once again proving Pancake Blocks readers have better reasoning and know more about their teams than a lot of the people who get paid to do this stuff.
When the Panthers took Derrick Harvey, all of Viking nation shed a tear. With this edge rusher off the table, the Vikings do not see a DE that makes sense in their Tampa 2 system. Groves is a 3-4 DE/OLB who's undersized as an every down lineman, while Phillip Merling is a "run stopping DE" who most scouts say is not a great pass rusher. With a Cover 2 scheme, speed off the edge is a must so Merling is not the choice. So, even though this is arguably the greatest need for the Vikes, the 17th pick will not be used on this position.
Continue reading "Pancake Blocks Mock: Pick No. 17" »
April 14, 2008
Scott C. is the first participant to go over my rough word limit for this project and call out a Rotoworld writer in the process. Plus he sent the pick in before the Lions were up. I'm needling because I like the enthusiasm. Here is Scott's reasoning, uncut
The Cardinals can go a few ways here. The Defensive Line is old and aging and Bertrand Berry and Chike Okeafor are both in their 30s, and have injury concerns. No interior lineman is disruptive. LB is weak as well. CB… major concern. Pretty much the whole defense sucks.
Continue reading "Pancake Blocks Mock Draft: No. 16" »
April 11, 2008
Pick 15 belongs to Adam P. picking for the Lions all the way down in the middle of the first round for a change. Let's hope he does better than Matt Millen
With Derrick Harvey off the board, the lions do not get the defensive presence they were hoping for. However, the lions get to fill another important need, just not on the defensive side of the ball.
The Lions select Rashard Mendenhall with the fifteenth pick of the draft. Detroit really needs a defensive end impact player but the drop-off of talent after Harvey is too big. Because of this, the logical choice is to draft an all-around star running back who is a big improvement over Tatum Bell and injury-prone Brian Calhoun. Mendenhall brings the element of power the Lions offense would be missing if they do not draft him and at the same time brings so much more to the game as well like catching the ball, inside and outside running ability and a workhorse mentality.
Continue reading "Pancake Blocks Mock Draft: Pick No. 15" »
We've got a bit of surprise with the fourteenth pick - and I like it. The more I hear about this guy, the better chance it sounds like he could go before Chicago is even on the clock.
With the 14th pick, the Chicago Bears select - Branden Albert - G - University of Virginia
While various offensive skill position players may be tempting, interviews this off-season seem to indicate that Grossman/Orton will battle for the starting QB job and that Benson will be given one more chance to prove he can be productive. Therefore, Chicago management should choose to address their offensive line with their first pick.
Chicago’s blueprint for success relies on using their defense and special teams to set up the offense with short fields and running the ball effectively.
Continue reading "Pancake Blocks Mock Draft: Pick No. 14" »
April 10, 2008
Honors for the Panthers belong to Matthew W.
The Panthers have been marred in mediocrity for the past few seasons and need a solid draft to help bring them out of it. Some might argue the current staff needs a solid draft to keep their current jobs. The Panthers could go a number of different directions with the 13th pick of
2008 draft.
Continue reading "Pancake Blocks Mock Draft: Pick No. 13" »
I must say, 12 picks in, that our draft has fewer surprises than the real draft is likely to have, with Darren McFadden to the Chiefs being a notable expection. All the picks are so ... logical. Here's another good one, with Taylor C. plugging major hole at left tackle in Denver.
WR and D-line were also given consideration however Tier 1 O-line talent is still on the board and makes the most sense here. A deep WR pool can allow for the position to be addressed later in the draft and a D-lineman doesn’t justify being selected this high. Although Harris and Kuper may have been able to shift to LT this pick allows them to slot in on other need areas on the line.
Continue reading "Pancake Blocks Mock: Pick No. 12" »
April 09, 2008
It took part of the afternoon to locate James N. but we found him to take the Bills pick. Here goes.
With the 11th pick in the draft The Buffalo Bills select Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.
I know that it might make the most sense for the Bills to go with a WR here, but with a defense desperately lacking playmakers, and a WR class with no real standouts, I think DRC will be able to step in right away and make a difference. He's big and strong and can run with any receiver in the league.....and with a pass defense that dipped to 29th in the league against the pass after the loss of Nate Clements I think this is a far more glaring need.
Continue reading "Pancake Blocks Mock Draft: Pick No. 11" »
Scott K. has the honors with our tenth pick. He's writing from my favorite town in the country- New Orleans. Sorry about slowing the pace of the draft down the last two days. We'll go three picks today. So James, you are up and TC get ready
With no real holes on offense to fill worthy of a high pick, this pick has to be on the defensive side of the ball. With the premier defenders gone, the Saints have to decide between a quality linebacker, a pass rush specialist, or a cornerback work in progress. A trade down is a possibility, but impossible to predict. With the Saints signing of Bobby McCrary, Randall Gay, Aaron Glenn, and eventual trade for Lito Sheppard (fingers crossed), it makes this pick fairly easy.
Continue reading "Pancake Blocks Mock Draft: Pick No. 10" »
April 08, 2008
Jacob C. has the honors for the next pick.
With the 9th pick in the 2008 NFL draft, the Cincinnati Bengals should select: OT Ryan Clady from Boise St.
Many agree that the biggest need for the Cincinnati Bengals is on the defensive side of the ball.
Specifically,a run stopping DT. With Glenn Dorsey and Sedrick Ellis off the board, the remaining top defensive player that the Bengals would likely consider is OLB Keith Rivers from USC. However, the Bengals have a bevy of linebackers and may find some answers on defense with the possible return of David Pollack and Odell Thurman.
What Bengals owner Mike Brown really cares most about is putting butts in seats and lining his own pockets (no GM and having the leagues smallest scouting dept are examples of his lack of commitment). As we all know, having a high powered offense will do that. As a result, protecting Carson Palmer is of utmost importance. Willie Anderson is in the twilight his career and Levi Jones has battled injuries of late.
The addition of Ryan Clady will help offset concerns about the fading strength at the tackle position, and help solidify the offensive line.
Continue reading "Pancake Blocks Mock Draft: Pick No. 9" »
April 07, 2008
A lot of people have Baltimore pining for a quarterback, which they should be. There are some indications, though, that they view Troy Smith as a legitimate contender to start. If not this year, then soon, even if he's a fallback plan. Here is Ryan F with the Ravens pick.
If at #4, Matt Ryan is still on the board, I think there is a very good possibility the Ravens try to trade up and grab that pick. But, seeing he's already off the board, I think the Ravens have to go CB here. I like Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, but I don't think he really fits his system. To me it's between Aqib Talib and Leodis McKelvin. And, seeing as how I'm just not so sure about Talib yet.... With the 8th pick in the 2008 Draft, the Baltimore Ravens select Leodis McKelvin.
Continue reading "Pancake Blocks Mock Draft: Pick No. 8" »
April 04, 2008
I've enjoyed letting you guys do the heavy lifting for the Mock Draft thus far, but the Patriots pick is all mine. With the seventh pick, I'm going to select Sedrick Ellis, defensive tackle out of USC. Let's explain this thing in bullets.
As a Patriots fan, I honestly don't get worked up over who they pick. And I can no longer be surprised by them. It's not that I'm disinterested, it's that I trust Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli know a lot more than me. Not every pick is going to work out, of course, but I trust their judgement.
Continue reading "Pancake Blocks Mock Draft: Pick No. 7" »
Our last pick showed that if you are going to be a GM, you better be ready to take some heat for your pick. I'll say this: coming out of college, Darren McFadden and Adrian Peterson's profiles weren't so different. McFadden could be the best playmaker in this draft, and the Chiefs sure need playmakers. I'm not saying the Chiefs would make the move, but that's not what this draft is about. Anyhow, let's move on to the Jets, surprised to be drafting so high in year two of the Tangini era. The writing is courtesy of John B.
Continue reading "Pancake Blocks Mock Draft: Pick No. 6" »
April 03, 2008
The fifth pick of our Mock draft creates the first shocker. It wouldn't be the first time the Chiefs surprised many with a first-round running back pick.
The Chiefs were hoping the Jake Long would fall to 5 but with the Raiders selecting him just ahead the Chiefs would try and trade out. Without a trade the Chiefs pull off the first shock of the draft and take Darren McFadden...
Continue reading "Pancake Blocks Mock Draft: Pick No. 5" »
Oakland seems like the first flashpoint of this year's draft. Al Davis could go a lot of ways here, and it will affect how the rest of the top-ten falls. Longtime friend of the program Stephen G has the honors.
With the #4 selection in the 2008 NFL draft the Oakland Raiders select: JAKE LONG, OT, Michigan
Possibly overused terms already, but simply put, Jake Long is the best player available and more importantly the SAFEST BET of all the top 5 picks (including Chris Long). Jake Long will be a franchise left tackle in the NFL for the next decade plus. He rates out on par or better than top 2007 Browns rookie Joe Thomas who was a resounding success last season.
Continue reading "Pancake Blocks Mock Draft: Pick No. 4" »
April 02, 2008
The picture sorta gives away this pick. It's written by Troy Hill from endzoneview.
Arthur Blank and the Falcons have a long road ahead of them. Not only do they need to rebuild their team after the unfortunate debacle of Michael Vick, they need to rebuild the relationship with the fans and season ticket holders. They made a great start by addressing the running back situation in free agency landing the highly coveted Michael Turner. It would be wise to continue to change the face of the organization and there’s no better position to do so than at quarterback.
Continue reading "Pancake Blocks Mock Draft: Pick No. 3" »
My sources tell me that the Rams hoped Chris Long would fall to them with the second pick, but that doesn't mean they will give up on improving their pass rush. Rotoworld news maven Evan Silva will do the honors for the Rams.
Continue reading "Pancake Blocks Mock Draft: Pick No. 2" »
April 01, 2008
With anticipation reaching a fever pitch for the first annual Pancake Blocks Mock draft, it was inevitable the first pick would get leaked out. Sources indicate that Scott L., choosing for the Dolphins, will take Chris Long. They reportedly wanted to trade, but that's not allowed. Not exactly the Mario Williams breaking at 10PM on a Friday night, but interesting stuff nonetheless.
Okay, Scott himself is the source. The clamor to get this thing has risen, and I aim to please. Scott's reasons for the pick are after the jump. The Rams, headed by our very own Evan Silva, are on the clock and will choose Wednesday.
Continue reading "Pancakes Mock Draft is underway! " »
March 31, 2008
Okay, it's been ten breathtaking days since the first annual Pancake Blocks Mock Draft lineup was announced.
Before I lose anyone to inattention, let's get the party started. Two picks a day, only on weekdays, starting on Wednesday. Email me your pick and a quick writeup behind the thinking as soon as you can once you are on the clock. I'll limit the writeup to about 250 words, although I'm cool with far less.
Remember - this is who you think your team should draft, not who you think they will draft. Scott and the Dolphins ... you are on the clock.
March 21, 2008
The official assignments for the first annual Pancake Blocks Mock Draft are below. I will be including all the info for the draft next week, but we probably won't get started until April 1. Thanks for everyone who signed up - if there were multiple requests for one team, I just went with whoever got there first.
Continue reading "Pancake Blocks Mock is Set" »
March 20, 2008
The response for the first annual reader generated Pancake Blocks Mock has been awe inspiring. A few of you asked for an update for who is available, so here is our draft order and the open spots. Nine picks remain open. Please enter your email address so I can contact you for the remaining sign ups. And the "anonymous" that picked the Cardinals may want to try again.
Continue reading "Pancake Mock Draft Update" »
March 19, 2008
Settling into my trip to Japan. Nothing makes you feel more like a gaijin then celebrating St. Patrick's Day here, but I'm not trying to fool anyone. I'm one week from arriving back home and still three days before the first Red Sox game, so the blog will remain quiet the next few days. That makes this a good time for some housekeeping. A few days ago, Bart suggested a reader-generated Pancake Blocks Mock Draft, with a reader making the first-round pick for each NFL team.
It sounds like a good way to improve the quality of writing around here, so I'm going to leave this post open for sign-ups. We'll start the Mock when I get back. Everyone will email me a few sentences explaining their selection, although obviously you can't make the pick until you know who's left on the board.
I'm going to take the Pats. Bart has the Jets. Matt Grant has the Steelers, and TC has the Broncos. The rest of the first-round picks are up for grabs, so pick a team below and start prepping.
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